Social Media: Latest News and Analysis

The Chinese government is considering a plan for Elon Musk to acquire TikTok's U.S. business, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.

This article first appeared in The Debrief, MIT Technology Review’s weekly newsletter from our editor in chief Mat Honan. To receive it in your inbox every Friday,  sign up here. On Tuesday last week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg released a blog post and video titled “More Speech and Fewer Mistakes.”  Zuckerberg—whose previous self-acknowledged mistakes include the Cambridge Analytica…

Even if the controversial U.S. ban on TikTok does take effect on Jan. 19, the app won't automatically vanish from phones. Here's what would change, plus preparations and potential work-arounds.

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Karen Attiah of the Washington Post about her experience with Meta's new AI chatbot "Liv," and what she calls "digital blackface."

Zuckerberg told Joe Rogan that Apple hasn't invented anything great in roughly two decades, since Steve Jobs created the iPhone.

Meta's moderation policy to allow more "free expression" was viewed as the latest effort to appease President-elect Donald Trump, which could help AI efforts.

TikTok and the Justice Department squared off before the Supreme Court. On the line is the fate of the viral video app, which is used by half of Americans. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to save the service, but the app's future could be decided by the high court.

Supreme Court is not likely to save TikTok from a U.S. shutdown, but incoming President Trump may try.

Zuckerberg approved Meta’s use of ‘pirated’ books to train AI models, authors claim  The Guardian

Google searches for how to cancel and delete Facebook, Instagram, and Threads accounts have seen explosive rises in the U.S. since Meta CEO Mark ...

Lawyers for TikTok argued that banning the app will violate the free speech of 170 million American users. The Justice Department contended that the app is a national security risk.

Lawyers for TikTok will argue that banning the app will violate the free speech of 170 million American users. The Justice Department will contend that the app is a national security risk.

Meta Platforms allegedly used pirated versions of copyrighted books to train its artificial intelligence systems, a group of authors is claiming in court documents, as reported by Reuters. The authors, including comedian Sarah Silverman and Ta-Nehisi Coates, are suing Meta for copyright infringement.The authors, who filed the lawsuit in

The move comes amid ongoing disputes between Chinese video game companies and smartphone brands over app-store commission rates.

Douyin is motivated to break information cocoons because that helps retain users in the long run, executive says.

Elon Musk used his social network X to promote Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany party, hosting a discussion with party leader Alice Weidel.

YouTube, Kick offered multimillion-dollar deals but viewers didn’t necessarily follow.

Entrepreneur and former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has proposed a formal bid to ByteDance for TikTok's US assets, according to Reuters. This move comes ahead of a January 19 deadline for ByteDance to sell the platform or face a ban under a law signed by President

The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments over a law that could ban TikTok in the U.S.

Shares of eBay soared Wednesday as Meta announced it will allow some listings to show up on Facebook Marketplace in Germany, France and the United States.

At least three wildfires have burned thousands of acres of land in Southern California. Here's what we know. And, why Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is ending fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram.

Meta's decision to eliminate its third-party fact-checking program and replace it with a user-generated system, similar to Twitter's new approach, has raised eyebrows and sparked speculation about the company's motives, The Hill reports. The move comes as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to

Meta's AI Studio tool, which allows users to create AI characters for chat, has been exploited to create bots violating the company's policies, NBC News reports. Despite Meta's claims of pre-release review, numerous AI characters depicting religious figures, celebrities, and fictional characters without permission

Meta Platforms Inc. offered to publish listings from classified ads rival eBay Inc. on Facebook Marketplace in an effort to comply with a landmark European Union antitrust order that was accompanied ...

Meta announces intent to "restore free expression" on its platforms

Meta employees internally criticized the company's decision to end third-party fact-checking two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

The company is looking for its next big hit in short dramas, with eyes on Southeast Asia and English-speaking markets.

Meta Platforms Inc. will end third-party fact checking on its social media platforms in the US, letting users comment on posts’ accuracy with a community notes system it said will promote free expression.

Facing a looming ban, brands and creators must contemplate the internet without its most important cultural production engine.